England Drop Brydon Carse Again For Third Pakistan Test

LONDON —

England have again left Brydon Carse out of their squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan, as a police investigation into an incident outside a nightclub in Derby continues, according to Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport and Sky Sports.

Carse, a 31-year-old seam bowler who plays for Durham, was first stood down ahead of the second Test at Lord's after he was arrested and then de-arrested on August 22, following a County Championship win for his county, BBC Sport reported. Derbyshire Police have said they are looking into an allegation of assault from that night, according to Sky Sports. It is not known what, if any, involvement Carse had in the alleged incident, Yahoo Sports reported.

Investigation Continues

Carse played for Durham last week but will not appear against Northamptonshire this week because of what the team described as "pre-arranged workload management" with the England and Wales Cricket Board, according to Yahoo Sports. The Cricket Regulator, which oversees discipline in English cricket, is continuing to look into the matter.

Sonny Baker, a 23-year-old left-arm seamer, has been called up as Carse's replacement and keeps his spot in the 15-man squad alongside fellow seam bowling option Sam Cook, BBC Sport reported. Matthew Fisher has been released from the group. Ollie Pope remains the squad's spare batter, and Shoaib Bashir stays on as the specialist spinner.

Chasing a Series Sweep

England have already sealed the series against Pakistan, winning by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley and by 194 runs at Lord's, according to Sky Sports. The third Test begins Wednesday, September 9, at Edgbaston in Birmingham, with England looking to complete a 3-0 sweep.

Interim head coach Marcus Trescothick had suggested before the squad was named that England could field an unchanged team. "First and foremost I want to win the series 3-0 and I think if you're going to do that you want to play the most consistent team possible," he said, according to Yahoo Sports. "It's not a case of we're going to go there and ease off the gas. We want to go there and win the series 3-0."

England's squad for Edgbaston is: Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue, according to BBC Sport and Sky Sports.